Georgia man to be tried for murder for abandoning 22-month-old son in hot car

A Georgia man will be tried for charges including malice murder in the death of his 22-month-old son, who was left strapped in an overheated car for seven hours, a grand jury decided on Thursday.

Justin Harris also faces two counts of felony murder for the June 18 death. The eight-count indictment also includes charges of child cruelty and a criminal charge involving sexual exploitation of a child, a Cobb County grand jury decided.

Harris told police he forgot to drop his son, Cooper, off at the daycare center on his way to work and only discovered the child after he left the office that afternoon and was driving to a movie theater.

But prosecutors contend that Harris deliberately left Cooper in the car to perish because he wanted to live a “child-free life.” A judge previously ordered Harris to remain jailed without bond.